Commune.1 is very pleased to announce our end-of-year group exhibition, 'But he doesn't have anything on!'. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's well known and oft-repeated allegory 'The Emperor's New Clothes', the exhibition brings together contemporary artists who use the visual language of textiles, which have long had a significant influence on South African and African art practice.

mercredi 10 juin 2015

Namsa Leuba (b.1982) is a half-Guinean and half-Swiss photographer. During the past two years, her research focused on African identity through western eyes. In the series The African Queen, Namsa was inspired by African women. She tries to re-contextualize African elements through her camera, bringing these elements into a framework for occidental taste and aesthetic choices.

She produces what she calls an 'intervention' on the models and on their typical African clothes. She tries to change the classic western perception of African culture. In every photograph Namsa always reconciles these two cultures. As these traditional objects become increasingly distant and unfamiliar in a fashion and western context, this body of work sheds light on two different cultural aesthetics through the personal experience of multi-cultural heritage and the performative intervention of the photographer.

mercredi 3 juin 2015

Half-Guinean, half-Swiss photographer Namsa Leuba is a champion of African visual culture. She channels the contrasts of her African-European roots by looking at tribal identity through a western lens, and for her series Ya Kala Ben – meaning “crossed look” – Namsa draws on the overlapping cultures of her upbringing and explores the rituals and customs of her mother’s native Guinea. Her striking images have been exhibited alongside Martin Parr and Viviane Sassen, and these portraits of local Guinean acrobats who perform at different ceremonies in Conakry are part of the new group show at Tiwani Contemporary, the London gallery that was one our favourites at the debut edition of Photo London last week. Posted by Alex Hawkins, Wednesday 27 May 2015/ It's Nice That

Three Cape Town events next month – That Art Fair, the Guild International Design Fair and the Cape Town Art Fair – herald the start of the local art festival season and with this in mind, the Mail & Guardian has selected 10 art fairs and events to check out around the country this year.

In order of when the art fairs take place, here’s our list:

That Art Fair

This new art fair is another event to add to Cape Town’s packed visual arts calendar. The Art South Africa initiative – which takes place in the same week as Design Indaba, the Guild International Design Fair and the Cape Town Art Fair – presents works by up-and-coming young artists from the continent. It takes place in a parkade in Salt River on the fringe of the gentrified Woodstock, a neighbourhood that has, over the years, become home to many of the city’s art galleries. Unlike traditional art fairs, this showcase features comic art, fashion exhibitions and graffiti murals.

Guild International Design Fair

The second edition of this fair, which shines a spotlight on design from all over the world, is all set to have a huge effect on the global craft scene. The five-day event is to host works by some of Mzansi’s esteemed artists, such as Kendell Geers and Conrad Botes, who is putting on a solo show of large-scale sculptural works. The Southern Guild show taking place at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront boasts Botswana furniture designer Peter Mabeo’s human nests and Los Angeles-based design company the Haas Brothers will debut a new collection called Afreaks.

Cape Town Art Fair

Despite the Cape Town Art Fair being fairly new on the art scene, this four-day event is fast becoming a drawcard for collectors, dealers and artists. Taking place during the city’s annual Design Indaba week, the fair features speakers such as American critic and performance art curator RoseLee Goldberg and South African artist Stephen Hobbs. This year’s exhibition highlights include museum night at the Iziko Museum and the Art in Public Places installations around the V&A Waterfront. Showcasing contemporary art from a range of galleries across the country, the fair takes place in two main venues at the V&A Waterfront: The Avenue and a marquee alongside the new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.

Penny Siopis’s artwork will be on display during the art fair. (David Harrison)